Thursday, December 28, 2006

U.S. Consumer confidence rose from 105.3 to 109.0, an eight-month high, the New York-based Conference Board reported.

The National Association of Realtors said that U.S. existing home sales were at an annual rate of 6.28 million units in November, up .6% from October's pace, but still down 10.7% YoY.

The Chicago Purchasing Managers' index rose from 49.9 to 52.4 in December, more than expected.

The U.S. Department of Energy said that:Supplies of crude oil were down 8.1 million barrels last week to 321.0 million barrels.Supplies of unleaded gasoline were up 3.0 million barrelsSupplies of heating oil were down 800,000 barrels.

Japan's Nov industrial production rose 0.7% MoM, increasing the chances for a BOJ rate hike in January by 25 bp to 0.50%.

China's GDP may expand at 10.5% in 2007, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Japan’s unemployment rate fell from 4.1% to 4.0%, the lowest in eight years, household spending was down 0.7% YoY. Japan’s personal consumption, which makes up 55 percent of the economy, may appear weak at first glance, but a closer look at economic indicators suggests the outlook is not so bad. The minutes of the Bank of Japan meeting on Nov 15-16 contained some hawkish comments that supported the view the BOJ is leaning toward further tightening over the near-term.

Canadian officials are proposing a C$345 million program requiring biofuel content of 5% in gasoline by 2010 and 2% in diesel fuel and heating oil by 2012, the Associated Press reported.

The USDA said there were 11.973 million head of cattle on feed on December 1st, up 2.1% YoY

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Want To Feel Rich?by Bill BonnerBeing "rich" is easier than we think. You just have to get away from Miami or Los Angeles. If you live in some countries, even an income of $5,000 a year will make you feel like a relatively rich man. In fact, a new study by the United Nations says that a net wealth of $2,200 will put you in the richest half of the world's people. If you can scrape together $61,000 in net assets, you are in the top 10%.What does it take to be in the top 1%? Just $500,000.

Pot is called biggest cash cropFor years, activists in the marijuana legalization movement have claimed that cannabis is America's biggest cash crop. Now they're citing government statistics to prove it.A report released today by a marijuana public policy analyst contends that the market value of pot produced in the U.S. exceeds $35 billion — far more than the crop value of such heartland staples as corn, soybeans and hay, which are the top three legal cash crops.

Friday, December 15, 2006

"This is a kind of surveillance we've never really seen before. The government can and will exploit whatever technology is available to achieve their surveillance goals. This is of particular concern, considering the proliferation of microphones and cameras in the products we own," said Kevin Bankston, a lawyer for the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Bush 'Privacy Board' Just a Gag The three-hour meeting, held at Georgetown University, quickly established that the panel would be something less than a fierce watchdog of civil liberties. Instead, members all but said they view their job as helping Americans learn to relax and love warrantless surveillance.

The White House has approved a $468.9 billion Pentagon budget for 08, a six-percent increase YoY.

Japan's tankan survey, increased from +24 to +25 in September, the highest in two years

Brazil's government estimates the 2007-2008 coffee crop at 31.7 million bags, less than expected. They said the 2006-2007 coffee crop totaled 42.5 million bags, 4 million bags less than the USDA's estimate.

Brazil's Association for Citrus Exporters said Brazil's exports of frozen orange juice in the first eleven months of 2006 were down 9% YoY.

Gold futures dropped about $12 an ounce, silver lost 7% and copper prices dropped to a six-month low.

He also reveals that British officials warned US diplomats that bringing down the Iraqi dictator would lead to the chaos the world has since witnessed. "I remember on several occasions the UK team stating this view in terms during our discussions with the US (who agreed)," he said.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Americans See Widening Rich-Poor Income Gap as Cause for Alarm Almost three-quarters of Americans believe inequality is a major issue, versus 24 percent who don't think so, according to a new Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll. Most of the concern is among Democrats and independent voters, though a majority of Republicans -- 55 percent -- also called the situation serious.

U.S. Retail sales were up 1.0% in November, more than expected. Excluding autos and gasoline, sales were up 0.9%.

China's economy may have modest downslide after 2006, with its GDP growth to slow from the current 10.4 percent to 9.6 percent in 2007 and 8.7 percent in 2008, the World Bank said.

The U.S. Department of Energy said that:Supplies of crude oil were down 4.3 million barrels last week to 335.4 million barrels.Supplies of unleaded gasoline were down 100,000 barrelsSupplies of heating oil supplies were down 700,000 barrels.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

The Federal Reserve left the federal funds rate at 5.25%, noting the economy has slowed and is hurt by "substantial cooling" in the housing market. The statement, left open the possibility the central bank might increase rates if inflation speeds up.

Monday, December 11, 2006

ECB Warns of `Herd-Like' Mentality in DerivativesSales of CDOs jumped 73 percent to $446 billion this year from a year earlier, according to data compiled by JPMorgan Chase & Co. The market for credit derivatives is the fastest-growing part of the derivatives market, helping to spur record earnings for banks including New York-based Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

U.S. Economic growth will slow and inflation will ease in 2007, with energy prices and a falling dollar posing the biggest risks to a pick-up in prices, a panel of Wall Street analysts forecast on Monday.

The U.S. Census Bureau said that wholesale sales were down 0.5% in October while inventories were up 0.8%.

China posted a trade surplus of 22.92 bln $ in November, down slightly from 23.83 bln in October, customs data showed. The trade surplus in the first 11 months was 156.52 bln $, up from 91 bln YoY.

Major oil-exporting countries have been moving away from dollar deposits to increase reserves in other currencies, including the Euro and the Japanese yen, the Bank for International Settlements has said. Dollar-denominated bank deposits by OPEC members decreased by 5.3 bln $ in the second quarter of 2006, while Euro-denominated deposits rose by 2.8 bln $ and yen deposits by 3.8 bln $.

The National Association of Realtors expects U.S. existing home sales down 8.6% in 2006 and down 1.0% in 2007.

Japanese Consumer Confidence for November out at 48.9 vs. 48.8 expected.

French Industrial Production MoM for October out at -0.1% vs. 0.5% expected.

The USDA's 2006-2007 U.S. ending stocks estimate of:Corn was unchanged at 935 million bushels.Soybeans were unchanged at 565 million bushels.Wheat was increased from 418 to 438 million bushels.Sugar was increased from 1.87 to 1.98 million tons.Cotton was increased from 6.0 to 6.3 million bales.

The USDA's 2006-2007 world ending stocks estimate of:Corn was increased from 90 to 93 million tons.Soybeans were increased from 55.2 to 55.7 million tons.Wheat was increased from 119 to 121 million tons.Cotton was increased from 51.0 to 51.5 million bales.

The USDA increased its estimate of the Florida orange crop from 135 to 140 million boxes with a projected yield of 1.58 gallons a box at 42.0 degrees Brix.

The Florida Department of Citrus said YoY inventories of frozen concentrated orange juice were down 40%.

From Reuters, Automatic Trading Linked to News Events Today, the Reuters Group begins selling two trading services that allow subscribers to set up automatic trading orders based on the news. They will give subscribers the ability to mine past and present Reuters news articles in real time and automatically buy, sell or hold a stock based on market-moving events.